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New-Car Transaction Prices Continue to Rise in June

IRVINE, Calif. — Kelley Blue Book reported today that June’s average transaction price (ATP) for light vehicles in the United States was $33,340, an $821 increase from June 2014 and a $209 increase from May.

“Ford showed the strongest ATP gains last month, driven largely by its all-new F-150 and a transaction price 6.6% higher than the previous generation F-150 last year,” noted Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “The all-new Edge and Mustang, along with updated versions of the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, also contributed to Ford’s pricing gains. The automaker may be struggling to grow volume and market share, but, from a profitability standpoint, Ford is doing quite well.”

Nissan North America's transaction prices rose nearly as much as Ford in June, with the company’s transaction prices showing a 4.5% gain across both the Nissan and Infiniti brands. But unlike Ford, Nissan’s gains are more balanced between the truck and car segments.

The all-new Murano crossover, for instance, saw prices rise more than 10% from a year ago, while the compact Rogue’s ATP was up 6.6%. On the car side, Nissan’s Altima and Sentra grew transaction prices by 4.9% and 5.4%, respectively, even as they maintained strong sales in June.

The Volkswagen Group was the only automaker to realize a decrease in its average transaction prices, with the high-volume Jetta and Passat down 5.8% and 1.1%, respectively. The ATPs for Audi and Porsche were up compared to last June, but they couldn’t overcome the Volkswagen brand's drop, resulting in the automaker’s average falling 1.2% across all brands last month.